Dealership Notebook

Friday

Oct 28, 2011 at 8:39 AM

Pontiac gone one year, but GM loyalty remains

Monday marks the anniversary of the expiration of Pontiac's final sales and service agreements with dealers. Automotive resource company Edmunds.com wondered how that affected former Pontiac owners who have entered the market looking for a new car in the last year.

You may be interested to learn that General Motors has managed to maintain - and even grow- the loyalty rate of former Pontiac owners. Edmunds.com found that 39.9 percent of Pontiac owners who traded in for a new car this year opted for a GM vehicle. This retention rate is eight percentage points greater than GM's retention rate in 2010, and represents the highest retention rate since 2007, when the rate was also 39.9 percent.

"Any time a manufacturer shuts down a brand, there's a concern that its consumers will shift loyalties to another company," said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at Edmunds.com. "General Motors took a calculated risk that it could retain Pontiac drivers under its umbrella, and the gamble appears to have paid off - with even more success than they enjoyed in previous years when Pontiac was still an option for returning customers."

In Jacksonville, Nimnicht sold Pontiacs from 2002 through the nameplate's final days a year ago. The dealership also sold the rugged HUMMER, but that line was dropped by GM in February of 2010. Today, the Philips Highway dealership sells Buick and GMC. The addition of the Buick line in late March has made an impact in its GM loyalty rate, according to Jackie Lynch, general manager of Nimnicht Buick GMC at the Avenues.

"Actually, our loyalty rate was a bit lower for our store up until our acquisition of Buick. The reason for that is a smaller percentage of people will trade from a car into a truck or SUV and, as you know, we only had GMCs to sell for 16 months, so it made it more difficult for us," Lynch said. "We did have success moving some former Pontiac customers into GMC sport utilities [especially the Terrain and Acadia], but few moved from a Pontiac into a Sierra or Yukon primarily due to the size difference of the vehicles.

"Now that we are a Buick dealer, I can tell you our retention percentage is closer to 50 percent just because we now have a new 'car' to offer to Pontiac owners and that aligns much better."

As for the Pontiac's resale value, Lynch says it's at an all-time high.

"When it's announced that any brand will be discontinued, there is concern among lenders about future values and that is exactly what happened," Lynch said. "What a lender will finance on a vehicle is a driving factor in resale values, and that will drive vehicle values down if dealers cannot acquire financing on them for their customers.

"I can tell you, though, those values are back!" Lynch said.

He cited an example:

"In 2010, current-year Pontiac G6 program vehicles could be acquired for around $11,000 on the wholesale market. Today, almost two years later, their wholesale acquisition value remains between $12,000 and $13,000 which is almost unheard of," Lynch said. "This is due to the renewed lender confidence in the brand, consumer confidence that GM dealers will be able to continue to offer parts and service for them, and ultimately the fact that it's just a darn good, quality vehicle with great reliability.

"Very similar situation happened with the HUMMER brand with the same results," Lynch added.

For more information, contact Jackie at (904) 685-8847. Nimnicht Buick GMC is located at 115503 Philips Highway; website is nimnichtbuickgmc.com.

Cadillac Saab of OP sponsors Blues Brothers-themed benefit

Tickets are still available for a Blues Brothers-themed party at Harmonious Monks next month to benefit St. Michael's Soldiers. The event is being sponsored by Cadillac Saab of Orange Park.

The Blues Brothers Salute to the Troops fundraiser will be held Nov. 8 from 7-9:30 p.m. at the Mandarin restaurant. For $30, folks can enjoy food, drinks, live blues entertainment and a live auction. Proceeds will go to the organization dedicated to supporting deployed U.S. troops.

St. Michael's Soldiers is a faith-based, non-profit ministry that provides "a little bit of home" to the deployed men and women of the U.S. military. The organization does this by providing "Home Sweet Home" boxes, filled with items that are used everyday, but may not be readily available to deployed military personnel. Items in the box include toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, shampoo, shaving cream, deodorant, T-shirt, socks, blankets, food items and prayers.

For ticket information, call Kathy Signorile at (904) 599-7855 or email her at stmichaelssoldiers@gmail.com. Kathy's husband is Jim Signorile, general sales manager of Cadillac Saab of Orange Park and vice president of St. Michael's Soldiers. For more information on St. Michael's Soldiers, go online to stmichaelssoldiers.org.

Rick Keffer to sponsor Barnabus Center benefit

Rick Keffer Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram of Yulee will be sponsoring a Jam Out Hunger! car and truck show on Dec. 3. The event, put on by Jacksonville Automotive Muscle, will benefit the Barnabus Center, a non-profit organization that provides residents of Nassau County with crisis assistance, including food, medical services, rent and utilities assistance.

The show is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the dealership, located at 464037 State Road 200. The registration fee is $20 or the equivalent in non-perishable food items. The first 50 to register will receive a goodie bag and dash plaque.

For more information, go to jamcarclub.com or rickkeffer.com. Barnabus' website is barnabuscenterinc.org.

This report was compiled by Director of Specialty Publications and Drive editor Joe DeSalvo. If you're an automotive, boating, motorcycle or RV dealership and have news to share with Drive readers, email Joe at joe.desalvo@jacksonville.com or call him at (904) 359-4366.

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